Searching For Equanimity
by ToTheMoonAndStars
Summary: Sawyer Lakahani had run from the very thing that was part of her—inside of her, carved into her very DNA. It had worked. At least, she thought it had. When two men track her down, in desperate need of her help, she leaves her "normal" life behind to join the X-Men. She thought it would be simple: take down the enemy, then go home. She was wrong and she was going to pay for it.
1. Chapter 1

_-Las Vegas, Nevada, 1962-_

A loud, tortured groan left Sawyer's mouth, head lolling back when she saw the state of the luxury presidential hotel suite. It was a complete disaster, though most of the fifteen checked-out hotel rooms she had to clean had been. It seemed that she had been given the rooms that had housed after parties and others of the sort from a long night at the Casino downstairs. From where she was standing, she spotted a pair of black lace panties hanging from the large television, unable to fathom why any sane person would leave those behind.

She was exhausted. Not only did she have the fifteen check-out rooms, but there were the ten basic room cleanups she had to do, then the extra ten from a coworker's shift she had agreed to cover. That had been a mistake, but she needed the money.

"Oh, well," she huffed, sliding on a pair of purple rubber gloves, "It's what I get for working on The Strip."

She started with picking up the trash, tossing everything into one of the opened trash bags hanging from the large beige housekeeping trolley.

By the time she was finished and was sure she had it up to management standards, she was hot, sweaty and overall felt disgusting. It had taken over an hour and a half to clean this one room from its disastrous state and she wasn't even close to clocking out, yet.

"Apparently," she said with a growl, throwing a handful of towels into the center compartment, "It's the end of the world if you clean up after yourself!" she practically tore off the gloves, throwing them on the floor, "Or have the decency to leave a nice tip, ugh!"

"Who are you talking too?"

Startling, Sawyer whipped her head around, a few pieces of jet black curly hair falling from the messy bun atop her head. She tossed her head to the side, failing to move them out of her face.

"Iris," she greeted, glaring at the other housekeeper, "What does it look like I'm doing?" she gestured wildly, "I'm cleaning up this pigsty."

"Huh…" Iris, an older woman with graying brown hair and a hunch, shuffled into the room to take a look around, "I can see that," she smirked, "That's why you never take Amy's shifts, hun. 300 hundred rooms in this whole place?" she shook her head, "There ain't enough of us."

"Yeah, yeah," Sawyer waved her off, then scrunched her nose at her chipped nails and flaking nail polish. She flipped her hand over to show Iris, "Look at that."

Iris showed Sawyer her own wrinkled hand, "We try to pamper ourselves and look what happens."

Sawyer's nose scrunched up again and she ran the back of her hand over her forehead, loosening the hair that stuck to it.

"What room are you on next?" Iris asked, picking up the gloves that Sawyer dropped.

"117," Sawyer answered, "You?"

"204," Iris replied. She looked at Sawyer with pity, "Between Francine and I, I bet we could cover your shift."

"No, no," Sawyer shook her head, giving up on trying to look presentable, "It's fine, I'll be done soon."

The gloves were handed back to her and Sawyer tossed them into the trash as she watched Iris begin to take her leave.

"Okay, hun, whatever you say," Iris called over her shoulder, "Take it easy, baby. You look a little peaky."

"Yeah, I will," Sawyer promised, though that wasn't an option, "Thank, Iris."

But the door had already swung shut, her words falling on her own ears. She could hear Iris pushing her own trolley away from the room she had been previously cleaning.

Alone, Sawyer went over to the extremely large backlit mirror above the sink, piercing nut brown eyes widening at her reflection. No wonder Iris had looked at her like that. She looked both pathetic and ridiculous. How the older woman had kept from laughing at her, Sawyer didn't know.

Her perfect cooper skin had lost some of its russet hues, the bright florescent lights making her look washed out and paler than she really was. Her glossy black curls that usually fell to her lower back in ringlets was frizzy and haphazard, most of it falling out of her bun. She winced at the tangles she could see. It was going to be a painful and long process of combing her hair.

There were bags under her eyes and she forced herself to smile with her teeth, showing off her dimples to her reflection.

"Ridiculous," she mumbled, letting the expression drop from her face. She removed her hair tie, cursing when it snapped painfully against her hand.

"You've got to be…ugh!" she yanked the broken band from her hair, taking a few strands with it. She stuffed it into the ugly light burgundy housekeeping dress she had to wear as her uniform.

"Okay," she huffed, leaving her hair alone and going back to her cart, "Back to work. Just a few more hours."

A few more hours turned into eight and it was extremely dark out when she was able to leave. It hadn't helped that in three of the rooms, management had ripped apart the beds and made Sawyer redo them while they watched. Standards, in a Casino Hotel like the one Sawyer worked at, were very, very important and very, very high.

The other work staff didn't make it any easier. Besides Iris, most of them were terrible, often fighting to clean the more expensive rooms or suites. One time, an older staff member had switched Sawyer's trolley with an older one that was lacking in the proper cleaning supplies, forcing Sawyer to run around all day. With her babyface, she looked younger than her years and some people didn't hesitate to take advantage of that.

Then, there were better times when guests would irresponsibly leave things behind, which the staff were then able to claim if a certain amount of time had passed. Sawyer was able to admit that once, she had taken someone's expensive steak dinner from the fridge. Another time, she had taken an expensive watch. She had wanted to sell it, but knew what happened to people who got caught pawning "stolen" items.

"Hey, baby!" a nicely dressed man called, clutching a beer.

Sawyer rolled her eyes, keeping her head down as she weaved through the thick crowds. Neon signs that flashed brightly lit colors illuminated her skin odd colors and the chatter that filled the streets failed to block out the catcalls and whistles.

It wasn't wise for a lady such as herself to be walking alone at night, but Sawyer managed to drag herself to her small apartment without further incident, hands shaking as she forced the silver key into the lock.

She had a headache, her feet hurt, her hands were cramped and her back ached from the constant bending over. She was tired and hungry, having worked more than sixty hours in the week and despite Sawyer's young adult age, she definitely didn't feel like she was in her prime.

She dropped her keys and purse onto the floor, walking through her small dark apartment until she reached the bathroom. She flicked on the light and prepared her bath, pouring in a generous amount of bubble bath. She looked out the door, hands clutching the frame as she wondered if she had time to make a cup of tea. It would take awhile for the bath to fill up.

Deciding that she had enough time, she hurried to the kitchen, loosening a few white buttons from her uniform as she did so while she kicked off the uncomfortable white shoes that all the maids were required to wear.

"Lavender, green, chamomile, oolong," Sawyer drawled, the cabinet creaking when she forced it to open further, "Mmm, earl gray sounds nice," she plucked the box from the shelf and grabbed a washed mug from the dish rack.

As she waited for the kettle to heat up on the stove, she returned back to the bathroom to keep an eye on the water level. The steam from the water was making her feel a little warm and the scent of the bubble bath was thick in the air. It was making her dizzy.

It had been a long an exhausting week and she took a seat on the closed toilet, pressing her cheek to the cool surface of the bathroom counter top.

* * *

"Sawyer Lakahani," Charles Xavier said to his partner as the car pulled up to the apartment. He passed a hand through his dark brown hair, removing a pair of sunglasses from his youthful face.

His partner, Erik Lehnsherr arched a dark eyebrow, but nodded, "Very well. She's the last one, correct?"

Charles exited the car, being the first to approach the door, "Correct, my friend and hopefully," he knocked, "She'll be interested."

They stood outside for a few moments, a silence between the two friends as they waited patiently.

"Well," Erik quipped in his light German lilt, hands in his pockets, "This is going splendidly."

"Mm-mm," Charles hummed, a shadow crossing his face. Two fingers made their way to his temple, "No, something's wrong. Open the door, Erik."

Without hesitation, Erik gave a simple flick of his wrist, the lock clicking in response to his metal manipulation.

The door swung open and Charles hurried inside.

"You know what this is called, my friend?" Erik drawled casually, sauntering into the apartment, "Breaking and entering."

"And since when has following the law been a concern of yours?" Charles asked, British accent thick as he looked around the room. There was a kettle whistling on the stove, "Take care of that, please," he said, venturing further into the apartment.

"Sawyer?" he called, opening a door to his left. It was a supply closet, "Saw-" he was cut off by a splashing sound and looked down to see a growing puddle of water.

He went forward, ignoring the liquid soaking into his black socks and followed the sound of running water. It didn't take long to find the bathroom and he was briefly appalled at the girl lying motionless in a puddle, the bath overflowing behind her.

"Erik!" he shouted. He shut off the water and undid the stopper.

Footsteps came thundering down the hall and Charles crouched beside Sawyer's still form, placing a gentle hand on her arm, "Sawyer, can you hear me?" he moved to brush his fingers against her cheek, his other hand probing her head to check for bleeding.

"She was attacked?" Erik asked urgently, eyes sweeping the room.

"No, simply fainted," Charles answered, pressing his lips together, "See if you can find a bedroom. Get a blanket, I'm going to bring her to the couch."

Erik snorted, looking hesitant.

"We can't very well leave her here, now can we?" Charles asked, meeting Erik's gaze for a moment, then turned back to Sawyer. He placed one arm under her knees, then his other under her shoulders, making sure her head was supported before he straightened up with a slight grunt.

Returning to the living room, Charles placed Sawyer on the tattered couch, pressing his hand to her forehead.

"No fever," he informed his friend when he came to the living room, "Probably exhaustion. We'll wait for her to come around."

Besides Sawyer, Charles and Erik had already tracked down four other mutants from all over the world: Exotic dancer Angel Salvadore; taxi driver Armando Muñoz; Army prisoner Alex Summers; and Sean Cassidy. Then, there was Hank McCoy, a young scientist and Charles' sister, Raven.

Yes, they had quite the team and adding Sawyer to their group would make it complete.

Minutes passed and right when Charles was about to get up to scourge for a cool compress, he could feel Sawyer's mind start to awaken and he pressed two fingers to his temple.

"Sh!" he hushed, just as Erik opened his mouth to say something, ' _Not yet_ ,' he projected into Erik's head, ' _She's coming to_.'

Charles watched as a pair of big brown eyes slowly fluttered open, the large pupils indicating her loss of consciousness. It took a moment for them to fully focus and Sawyer let her eyes roam all over the room before they closed again for a few moments.

She brought her hand up until it touched her forehead, her thumb and pointer finger on either side and when her eyes opened again, they were more focused, widening in complete panic when they landed on Charles.

"Please, please," Charles begged, holding up a hand, "Don't scream."

"We want to talk," Erik piped up.

Sawyer did let out a startled cry and she shot to her feet, swaying dangerously.

It was Charles who stood to catch her, though not for long. As soon as his hands made contact with Sawyer, she shoved him away, managing to stumble away from the couch, tripping over one of the legs in her haste. When she was steadied, she looked down at herself, checking for injuries or missing clothes.

"We did nothing to you, you have my word," Charles soothed, remaining where he stood. The girl was completely terrified and he understood why, "We ju-

"Please don't hurt me!" Sawyer interrupted, begging. She took a few steps back, holding her hands up, "I don't know who you are, but please, I don't have any money or drugs or alcohol. I don't have _anything_!" she looked like she was going to burst into tears, " _Please_."

"There's no need to be frightened," Erik said, stepping closer to Charles, "My name is Erik Lehnsherr," he gestured to Charles, "And this is Charles Xavier. We do not want to hurt you," he repeated.

"You don't want to hurt me!?" Sawyer shrieked in pure disbelief, "You just broke into my house! To do what? Fix the crack in my ceiling!?"

"We want to help," Charles interjected. His hand twitched by his side as he debated calming her, "I found you unconscious on your bathroom floor. Please, be calm. You might be ill."

"I-I'm fine," she stuttered, uncomfortable, "I just I-" she stammered, unable to find her words and unsure of what to do in this odd situation.

Charles nodded, eyes soft, "Right, that's all right," his eyes went to the stove, then back to Sawyer, "When we came in, the kettle was on," he looked at Erik, "The kettle, Erik."

"Yes, I assume that you were making tea," Erik snapped his fingers and the kettle came floating towards him, bobbing playfully in the air until it reached his hand. He flicked his eyebrows up at Sawyer, "Did you still want a cup?"

Another cry left Sawyer's lips and she clapped her hands over her mouth in shock, backing away even further until her back hit the wall. Her feet continued to move, only she could go no further.

"Charles," Erik's dark eyebrows drew together at Sawyer's reaction, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, positive," the Brit said curtly. He brought two fingers to his temple, ' _Sawyer_ , _it's all right_. You _**know**_ _this_ , _you_ _ **know**_. _We are **not** here to harm you. We are like you_.'

Sawyer looked around trying to find the voice. Finally, she burrowed her hands in her face.

"Oh God," she moaned, "I fainted and now I'm in a coma!"

' _Sawyer_ , _look at me_ ,' Charles projected, ' _Please_ , _look at me_ ,' he waited until she did so, frantic brown eyes locking on his bright blue obs, ' _It's me_ , _Charles_ , _it's_ _ **my**_ _voice_. _I can assure you_ , _you're quite conscious_. _I'm a telepath and Erik has his own abilities_. _We are like you,_ ' he repeated, remaining patient.

Unable to turn off his gift, Charles could hear Sawyer's thoughts and the frantic note that laced them, now turned sour and defensive. He watched as she bristled before them, lifting her head and shaking it. Her eyes were hard.

"Look," she snapped firmly, "I don't know _what_ you're talking about or _what_ you were hoping to gain by breaking in, but you're both completely _lolo_!"

Charles flicked his eyebrows up at the language, "Oh?"

She glared at them, "Get out of my apartment."

Erik, growing impatient, appeared to crush the kettle in his fist, water flowing out of it as the kettle dropped to his feet with a hard clang in a ball of metal. The handle still stuck out.

"We don't have time for this!" he practically growled, "We are wasting precious time."

"And you're also wasting my money," Sawyer said hotly, "Those things are expensive and I hope you plan on replacing it!"

"Erik, please," Charles scolded, "Sawyer, we can be friends. There are others like you."

Sawyer shook her head frantically, "No, no, you don't understand," she looked off to the side, seemingly distracted by another thought, a memory that caused Charles to press his lips together as she whispered, "I-I _can't_."

"Well, then we'll be on our way," Erik quipped. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of bills, "This should cover the cost of your kettle."

"I apologize for my friend," a gentle smile flitted over Charles' face, "But why don't you let us tell you why we've come? I'm sure that will make things a bit more clear."

Sawyer bit her lip and she crossed her arms, chin jutting out, "Two minutes…" she paused, "Go."

"We're looking for recruits," Charles started, shifting his weight.

"Recruits?" Sawyer's eyes bugged, "What, like, a war!?"

Erik leaned forward, "We're not quite sure, yet," he said darkly, "But another mutant, Sebastian Shaw," his fists clenched, "We've heard word that he's working with the Soviet Union and his own mutants. Possibly hellbent on destroying all civilization."

Charles eyed Erik, but said nothing. He looked back to Sawyer just in time to see her eyes widen in horror, her hand going to rest over her heart at the same time she gazed at Erik. The sympathy and compassion that filled her eyes warmed his heart.

"Oh my God…" she breathed out, "You're not lying."

Erik tilted his head, eyes narrowed, "How can you be sure?"

"Your eyes," Sawyer said sadly. She looked at Charles, then Erik, repeating the motion before she looked down, "But I can't…I can't help you…"

"Sawyer," Charles made his voice soft and bent his head to try and look into his eyes, "We'll be taking you somewhere _safe_. You don't have to be afraid anymore. "

"No," Sawyer agreed. Her tone portrayed how desperately she needed him to understand, " _Others_ need to be afraid," she paused and held a hand up, "Wait a minute. How did you even _find_ me? Who have you been talking t—I haven't even—are you some kind of stalker?"

Charles frowned at her, the idea absurd, "I—what. No, of course not. Look, it's a long story, but this is your chance to prove yourself. I _know_ you think that you're bad, but there is good in you, Sawyer, a lot of it. And I know…" he paused, "With you, we could save many innocent people. You are powerful."

"Not really…" Sawyer trailed off.

"And I'm sure you'd like a job where you're not scrubbing toilets," Erik added eyeing her uniform, "We're with the CIA."

Sawyer's her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. She looked at Charles who nodded at her encouragingly. He could see her resolve weakening and he was partly worried that she would fall over.

It was silent for a long time.

"…Okay," she finally whispered, "I'll-I'll come with you, I guess," she sighed, "Just to see—um, can I just have a minute to…"rambling, she jabbed a thumb behind her.

"Of course," Charles said, extending a hand, "We shall wait here."

He watched Sawyer practically flee from the room, her footsteps splashing in the water that had yet to be cleaned up. With a loud, content sigh, he relaxed, going to reclaim his seat on the couch.

"She is not plotting to leap out of a window, is she?" Erik asked.

"No," Charles said with a slight laugh, "No. Despite what just occurred, she does believe us and she is coming with us," he looked at his friend, "Thanks to you and those honest eyes of yours," he clapped him on the shoulder, "Good for you, old chap."

Erik scoffed lightly. He stared up at the ceiling and gave Charles a sidelong glance, "Are you going to tell me of her mutation?"

"No, no," Charles shook his head, "I do not believe that it is my place. I suppose her mutation really is quite simple when you say it aloud, give it a name, but there is much she can do with it—extensive. It's a very groovy mutation."

Erik crossed his legs, a hand behind his head as he leaned back on the couch.

"Let us hope, it is _groovy_ enough not to get us all killed."

* * *

Freshly showered, Sawyer felt ten times better. Her hair hung, slightly damp but recently washed, the dirt and grime from her job having swirled down the drain and she had taken time to think over her current situation, her thoughts having turned into mush with the craziness of it all.

It was surreal and totally crazy. Two strange, but handsome men with accents breaking into her apartment and declaring that they needed her to come with them to work with the CIA. She had been terrified at first, having been paranoid of someone breaking before, but this had been something she never imagined occurring. Now, she was going to work for the government! Unbelievable!

She supposed if they really were up to no good, they wouldn't have taken their time to care for her upon finding her on the bathroom floor.

She winced as embarrassment flooded through her to settle in her cheeks. She occasionally fainted when she pushed her body beyond its limits, making herself ill when she got too stressed out. It was mortifying, but having been born premature, her body was weaker and it was a problem she had been dealing with since she was a child; among some anxiety and other issues that got a little better as she got older, but she supposed she managed—she had been forced to toughen up at an early age and it had been several weeks since her last fainting spell.

She couldn't believe she was doing this. She was hesitant to leave Nevada, as there was a specific reason that she had moved there; but she wasn't really interested in potential world domination. She thought of Iris, and while Sawyer wasn't sure if they were technically friends, she would be devastated if something ever happened to her. Iris was the only one who cared.

Shaking herself out of her depressing thoughts, she glanced briefly at the rumpled uniform on her bed. Going to the CIA, she was told she only needed the necessities and her maid uniform wouldn't be one of them.

Turning her gaze away, she came to the last item she was going to pack. It was a definite necessity; a framed black and white photograph.

She stared at it for longer than she should have, startling herself when a tear dripped onto the glass. She was further startled when there was a firm knock on her bedroom door.

" _Sawyer_?" it was Charles, " _May I come in_?"

"Sure," Sawyer quickly wiped away her tear and dropped the frame into the duffle bag, zipping it closed just as the door opened. She whirled around to face Charles and plastered a smile on her face, "Hi!"

"Hullo," Charles greeted hesitantly, surprised by the sudden enthusiasm, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine," Sawyer said as he came further into the room, "I'm great, all packed, actually. I only need…" she turned, her finger pointed at her bedside table, "This."

It was a sterling silver figural brooch in the shape of plumeria flower. She tried to pin it to the front of her black shirt, but failed to do so with her shaking hands.

"Here, let me," gingerly, Charles took it from her, gauging her reaction, "Do you mind?"

She shook her head and allowed the man to get close enough to pin it. When he was finished, she looked down and adjusted it slightly.

"There you are," he smiled as he stepped back from her, "Lovely. Where did you get it?"

"I took it," she said simply, returning the smile and taking one last look around her room before Charles could reply, "I suppose I'm ready, then."

"Good," he took her bag, "Are you sure that you're all right? You still look quite pale."

"Tired," she assured him, waving a careless hand. She tucked some hair behind her ear and followed him out of her bedroom. Her past and her health issues weren't anyone's business but her own, "I'm fine, really."

"You can sleep in the car," he promised, "It will be quite the drive until we reach the airport."

"Oh," Sawyer gasped, "Yeah, where exactly is this place?"

"Virginia," Erik answered, leaning against the couch with his arms crossed.

Sawyer had a great reluctance to go to the South, faltering in her steps. But there was something about the bright smile on Charles' face, the endearing expression making him look years younger that made her keep walking.

"It's wonderful, really," he promised Sawyer, a skip in his step, "We've recruited four other mutants for our little peacekeeping team and they're all brilliant. With you, that puts us at ten."

Locking the door behind herself, Sawyer stared at it and asked, "Does that put the odds in our favor?"

"We can only hope," Erik answered.

"Oh…" Sawyer mumbled absently, a hint of a frown of her face. She yawned.

"Come," Charles wrapped his arm around her shoulders when she stumbled, "Rest in the car and when you wake, we can talk further."

Sawyer couldn't even be in awe at the sleek black car that she was pushed into and she lazily slid over to the left side, propping her elbow up on the sill. She was so, so tired.

"You can sleep, Sawyer," Charles assured her from the driver's seat, "You're safe. I promise."

Sawyer was determined to stay awake, still a bit mistrusting, but that all failed her when she saw Charles delicately raise his fingers to his temple, the word "Sleep" falling from softly from his lips.

…

…

…

Sawyer was awoken by someone shaking her gently and she shot up, a loud gasp escaping.

"It's all right, it's all right," Charles held his hands up in surrender, taking a step back from her, "We've arrived at the airport."

Sawyer looked around blearily and surely they had arrived at the airport. It was busting with activity and she he accepted Charles' offer to help her out of the car, releasing him to rub her fists in her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Erik asked, eyeing her skeptically.

"Better," Sawyer answered, her voice coming out strong. She was more perky and alert, "A lot better, thanks."

Erik nodded curtly and led the way, "Stay close."

Sawyer followed Erik completely through the airport. She kept her mouth shut, confused when they went through security. There were no ticket checks or waiting at a gate. They walked all the way to the back and outside to a plane with a pilot standing in front of it.

"No way," she looked up at it, "Is a private plane really necessary?" she couldn't help but ask.

Charles grinned at her, "CIA, remember?" he jerked his head, "Come on," he skipped off, greeting the pilot enthusiastically, "Hello!"

Sawyer smiled politely at the pilot and stepped onto the plane. It was much larger on the inside—there was even some sort of couch to sit on, but she chose one of the comfortable seats and buckled up, accepting the bag that Charles held out to her.

"Thank you," she said sincerely as Charles and Erik sat in the two seat across from her. She was still a bit sleepy, but she had so many questions. Before she could ask one of them, Erik beat her to it.

"Is there anyone you need to get in contact with?" he asked, "To inform them of your sudden absence?"

"No," she said shortly, biting her lip, "No one," a twinge of guilt shot through her and her thoughts wandered, first to Iris. She felt almost obligated to inform her coworker that she wouldn't be coming into work for some time, but had no idea how to contact the woman personally.

She flicked her eyes up, deciding to change the subject, "So, what are your powers, exactly?" she pointed at Erik, "You can move stuff."

"Metal," he corrected with an amused smirk.

"Telepath," Charles raised a hand and nodded once in her direction, "And yourself?"

"You've been inside my head, haven't you?" Sawyer asked him. She leaned forward, dropping the volume of her voice, "Don't you already know?"

"Yes, I do. However, understand that I try to only use my powers on a willing subject," Charles told her, "Even so, I have been forceful as a last resort and you are not a last resort."

"Yet," Erik said.

"Erik," Charles warned without looking away from Sawyer. He addressed her, "When we get to the base, it will be a lot more comfortable. The others are looking forward to meeting you."

Sawyer gnawed on her lower lip. Meet the others? Her eyes began darting to the windows as she debated jumping out of one of them. She wasn't sure if she would be good with people. She had no friends. She didn't even have a pet fish or anything. It was only her.

"They're people whom we hope to help," Charles said reassuring, "You can learn to use your powers safely, Sawyer. You can control them."

Sawyer settled back in her seat, and began to pick at her chipped nail polish. She was here, unable to escape as of yet and faced with people who said it: she had powers, she was a mutant. She had known that already—the powers part. That didn't mean she accepted it and again, was unsure how she could help these people…but they were so sure that they could help her.

"Mutant," she said, the word funny on her tongue. She had never said it before, but had read it in a few of her books, rarely hearing it spoke by others, "Mutant."

That signaled the end of the conversation and she pulled out a book from her duffel bag. She had yet to flip it open when Charles gasped.

"You study genetics?" he practically cried.

Sawyer shrugged, "Oh, no. No, I don't know…kind of," she glanced down at her skin, "Not really. You see, I'm multi-racial and there's all types of people in m-" she cut herself off, realizing that she was rambling, "Um, I like to study it and guess what came from whom. Sometimes, I'll apply it to other people. It's like a game."

Charles looked like a kid on Christmas, "I happen to have recently graduated from Oxford University. I earned a Ph.D in Genetics."

"No way?" Sawyer's eyes widened, something she seemed to do a lot, "Really?"

"Really," Charles laughed, his cheeks pinking, "I completed my thesis on genetic mutation, if you would like to hear it?"

"Sure," Sawyer closed her book, "It's really an occasional hobby, though. You'll probably have to dumb it down."

"As fascinating as all of this is," Erik rolled his eyes, climbing to his feet, "I think I fancy a drink. Charles?"

"Please," Charles nodded, looking through his briefcase, "One for Sawyer-

"Essie," she interrupted.

"Pardon me?" Charles frowned at her.

"My name," Sawyer pointed out, "I like Sawyer, but—it's a nickname and you said we're friends, so…you can call me Essie. If you'd like."

He smiled, "Essie, then. So…"

Sawyer listened intently as Charles began to explain his thesis and while she didn't get most of it, she could see the passion in his sparkling eyes as he talked about it. She nodded in all the right places and he didn't seem irritated when she asked him to explain certain parts—sometimes more than once.

She was so immersed in what Charles was saying, that she jumped when something was placed down in front of her and when she looked at it, the bottle of water, a deep frown marred her face.

"What?" at Erik's inquiry, she peered upwards, "Is there something wrong with it?"

Sawyer's eyes followed the drop of perspiration that slid tantalizingly down the plastic and she swallowed thickly, her hands twitching where they were folded in her lap. The drop puddled on the tray.

"Sawyer?"

She yelped when a hand landed gently on her shoulder and the water bottle exploded, causing a scream to erupt loudly from her lips.

An intense fog washed over her brain and she sagged against the seat she had been thrashing against, held down by her seat belt. She was completely calm as if it was just another average day. She looked at the two men, expecting horror or fear, but they looked the exact opposite. They looked impressed.

Unsure of what to say. She smiled sadly and did jazz hands.

"Ta-da."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm very excited to branch out fully in the X-Men fandom and have been enjoying an ongoing X-Men movie marathon throughout the week! A big and warm thank you to my Beta Reader, Sabrina06.**

 **Review please,**

 **-TTMAS**


	2. Chapter 2

"Division X," Charles exclaimed proudly, his face lit up and Sawyer's bag over his shoulder, "It was created to recruit mutants and a very kind agent has agreed to sponsor us."

Sawyer stepped off the plane, trailing slowly after Charles. The plane had taken them directly to the landing strip at the base of the CIA. While on the flight, Sawyer learned that the division they would be staying at was top secret and remote. There were even some agents that remained unaware of it.

From where she was standing, it was wide and spacious with a few armed agents milling about. She could see the building and it was an ugly dark gray color, shaped rather oddly like some sort of puzzle.

Virginia was three hours ahead of Nevada and considering she had gotten home extremely late, technically in the morning, plus the flight time, the sun had peaked, the sky grayish-blue and she had to guess that it was at least mid-afternoon.

She turned to the two older gentlemen, a little wary of the agents when one of them eyed her.

"We're safe here?" she asked, just to clarify.

"Yes, of course!" a new female voice said, causing Sawyer to turn to see the owner of it peer at the speaker.

It was a woman with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. She had a wide smile on her face and wore a black skirt suit and heels. She looked professional as she extended a hand towards Sawyer.

"Agent Moira MacTaggert," she introduced, shaking Sawyer's hand firmly, "It's wonderful to meet you!"

"Sawyer Lakahani," she dropped her hand, "The pleasure is all mine."

"Charles, Erik," Moira greeted the two men, "I trust you enjoyed your flight?"

Sawyer's face heated and she could feel Erik's eyes on her, no doubt, remembering the water bottle incident.

"It was fine," Erik supplied shortly.

"Moira, why don't you take Essie to her room?" Charles suggested, handing the young woman her bag, "I'm sure she'd like to rest and freshen up," he grinned at Sawyer, "The others will descend like wolves once they hear you've arrived."

Sawyer blinked at him, "Comforting," she said sarcastically, making a move to follow Moira. She stopped, turning her head to call out to Erik and Charles, "Thank you. For…finding me."

Charles nodded at her, "It was our pleasure. We shall see you soon. Moira?"

"Yes, yes, I'll come find you," Moira said, waving them off, "Come on, Sawyer, if you'll follow me," her heels clicked against the smooth cement, "So, where are you from?"

Sawyer hesitated, eyes darting around as if the slightly humid air surrounding them had ears.

"Ha-" she stopped to clear her throat into her fist, "Las Vegas," deciding to change the subject, she asked, "How did you get involved in all of this?"

"Ah," Maria exclaimed softly, "Well, it's a long story, but after witnessing some… _events_ , I tracked down Charles," she glanced at Sawyer, "He's an expert in genetic mutations and he agreed to help me. Then, with the help of Hank, Charles and Erik tracked down all of you."

"Oh," was all Sawyer said. She had no idea who Hank was and her voice trailed off when they entered the main atrium of the building. The inside was quite a sight. Large with a high ceiling and a big ramp that took up a lot of space and led to all types of other hallways and staircases that went in many different directions.

Sawyer could see herself in the shiny floors and she lost track of where they were walking, but obediently followed Moira until the agent stopped in the middle of a door-lined hallway.

"Girls," Moira gestured to the right side of the hall, "Boys," she pointed to the left, then to the right again, "This room is yours. If it helps, you're right in between Angel and Raven. You'll meet them later. There's a bathroom in your room as well."

Apparently, the government was against mutants sharing rooms. Maybe they were worried, that all together they would plot to overthrow the government.

Sawyer looked at the door, then back at Moira, wondering if this could get any more awkward, "Okay. Thank you."

"Of course," Moira turned and pointed to a small hallway, past a multitude of agent that would lead to pair of double doors, "That's the break room. The others have sort of migrated and spend most of their time there. In fact, they're probably eavesdropping as we speak."

Self-consciously, Sawyer crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers threading through the hair on her arms. Ahh, genetics.

"Thank you," she said again, placing her hand on the doorknob.

Moira dipped her head, "I'll see you later. Erik and Charles are waiting for me. If you need anything, ask one of the agents."

Sawyer's eyes glanced over at them and she plastered a small smile on her face as she nodded at Moira.

When Moira began to walk away, she slipped into her room, shutting the door with a soft click and pressing the lock into place.

The light was already on, the room simple with its layout. There was a bed, a beside table, a small chest at the foot of her bed and a door to her right which she assumed to be the bathroom.

She went forward and dropped her bag on the bed. She took her sweet time unpacking the things she brought. She set the photograph on the bedside table and placed her clothes, neatly folded into the chest. She left her toiletries on the bed and sat next to them, taking a moment.

"I'm in Virginia," she said. She puffed out her cheeks and blew out a loud gust of air, shaking her head.

She sat there for a few moments, mulling things over in her head before she got up, toiletries in her hands. She went to the bathroom where there was a toilet, a wall-mounted sink with a counter top, a mirror above it and a small tub with a curtain and shower head. There was no wallpaper or paint, the walls concrete gray and she stood out with her colored clothes, feeling a bit out of place though she was alone.

' _I can't believe I'm actually here_ ,' she thought, setting her things on the counter, ' _I'm with the CIA_!'

The whole thing didn't feel real and she was waiting to wake up back in her small apartment in Vegas. Nonetheless, she was sure that would happen soon enough. When she went back to work after this experience, it would definitely be different. She suddenly realized, with a bit irritation, that she would have to call her workplace or risk being fired. She didn't think the hotel would appreciate her sauntering in after being gone for a week or so with no explanation. They'd happily haul her up and throw her out on her butt. At least she had paid her bills for the month and that thought brought some comfort.

' _Idiot_ ,' she glared at her reflection in the mirror, ' _You should have accepted Erik's offer when he asked if you needed to call anyone_.'

With a sigh, she worked on taming her appearance, brushing her teeth and running a comb through her hair after running it under the faucet. She gave her armpits a quick sniff, then decided to hop in the shower. The water was cold and helped wake her up.

She dressed in a new pair of undergarments and pulled a floral dress over her head, slipping her jacket over top and shoving her feet into a pair of shoes. After putting on the floral pin and applying product to her hair, she pulled her curls over her shoulders, twisting this way and that to make sure she looked presentable. It had been awhile, but she was meeting new people and had no desire to look foolish. She had wanted to sleep, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins prevented her from doing so.

Satisfied, she begin to leave her room, stopping right as she reached the door. She took a deep breath and adjusted her clothing to buy herself another second.

Inhaling a deep breath, she left her room and shut the door tight behind her. She followed to where Moira had indicated, becoming tense as she passed the agents, a few openly glaring at her.

She had barely approached the double doors when there was a keen " _There she is_!" from inside the room.

The next thing she knew, a hand seized her wrist yanking her forward, then Sawyer found herself enveloped in a tight embrace.

"Hi!" a chipper voice squealed, "I'm Raven, Charles' sister."

"New recruit!" a male voice called out dramatically.

Cheers rang out through the room and Sawyer was able to pull back from the hug to take in her surroundings.

The room was large, spacious and brightly lit. It was a lot more colorful compared to the rest of the building and Sawyer was delighted to see a beige phone inconspicuously attached to the wall. The walls were painted a bright gold color with fun art hung here and there. There was a colorful fish tank, a fully stocked minibar, a flashing pinball machine and a jukebox.

Despite the mix of seating and tables in the room, all the other recruits were crowded around a small white table in black chairs and the sofa near a large window pane that gave them a view of the outside.

Raven was a perky wavy blonde haired girl with blue eyes and perfect white teeth and flashing a grin. She grabbed Sawyer's hand and dragged her over to the couch.

"Come sit!" she demanded.

Sawyer was astonished as she was shoved onto the couch. The breath was knocked out of her and Raven sat beside her. A very pale brown-haired boy with large glasses, looking as awkward as Sawyer felt on Raven's other side.

Across from the trio, occupying the other couch was a girl with cooper skin and heavy eye makeup, the side bangs of her straight black hair covering part of her forehead.

In one of the chairs, there was a light-skinned boy with a mop of shaggy red hair and freckles, a lazy grin on his face. Occupying the chair next to him, slouching casually sat a dirty blonde-haired boy wearing a leather jacket, his entire presence screaming "bad boy".

There was a dark-skinned boy with short kinky black hair and a goatee who grinned at her, holding out a hand for her to shake.

"I'm Armando, but call me Darwin," he said.

The pale boy on Raven's other side looked around her and greeted Sawyer shyly, raising a hand, "Hello, I'm Hank."

"Alex," The boy in the chair beside Sawyer greeted, looking her up and down. He bit his lip suggestively and Sawyer looked down into her lap until the next person spoke.

"I'm Angel," young woman greeted.

"Sean," said the freckled boy, raising his Coke glass in a form of greeting, then burped.

"H-hello," she said, unnerved by their intense staring, "Um, I'm Sawyer-

"Sawyer?" Alex interrupted, "Like, _Tom_ Sawyer?" he laughed cockily.

"Ugh, shut _up_ , Alex," Angel rolled her eyes.

"…But you can call me Essie," Sawyer finished quietly, clenching her hands in her lap.

"Are you thirsty?" Darwin asked, already getting up, "We have tons of soda. Coke?"

"Sure, thank you," Sawyer said, surveying the room again. She didn't drink much soda.

"So, where are you from?" Sean asked conversationally.

"Las Vegas," Sawyer told him, accepting the coke glass from Darwin.

"Really?" Angel asked, "You were born there and everything?"

Sawyer bristled, but merely pursed her lips.

Seeing how uncomfortable she was, Angel offered a sheepish smile and shrugged one shoulder.

"I can hear a bit of an accent, that's all," she explained, "I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't," Sawyer assured her. She forced a laugh to dispel the tension, "I can't believe you can hear my accent," her hand fluttered to her throat, "I thought it disappeared _years_ ago."

The group chuckled along with her and she shifted in her seat, taking another glance at the group. They were all mutants, she wasn't the only girl, nor the only person of color and it seemed like they really wanted to get to know her. Being teammates, they had to trust each other and Sawyer didn't know if she was capable of that. It wasn't them, it was her.

It didn't appear that Sean was going to let Angel's statement go so easily and he egged her on, "C'mon, Essie! You can tell us, we don't judge."

Sawyer took a small drink of her soda, eyeing Alex for the briefest of seconds. She winced when the soda fizzed down her throat. If she didn't say where she was from, it would look suspicious and first impressions were everything. Whether she felt like she deserved them or not, she _really_ wanted friends. She had always been jealous of the groups of gals she would see hanging out on The Strip. Even her coworkers had their own little clique. One, that she wasn't part of.

"I-I'm from Hawaii, originally," she said quietly.

"Hawaii, really?" Raven's eyes were wide, "It just became a state, didn't it?"

"Yeah, a few years ago," Sawyer nodded and shrugged, "But I wasn't there for that," she motioned towards the others, "Where were you all before this?" she asked shyly.

"We're from all over. Darwin and I were working," Angel said, placing her glass on the table, "Raven was with Charles, Sean was a runaway and our dear Alex," she patted him on the shoulder, "Was in an army prison."

Alex hunched his shoulders and Sawyer was shocked that Angel had said this so casually. She bit her lip in response. Everyone in the group looked to be rather attuned to each other.

"You all knew each other before, then?" she asked, "Before this?"

With a snort of laughter, Darwin shook his head, "Oh, no, no. We've all been here for a couple of days. You're the last to arrive."

"Lucky you," Alex interrupted.

"Which means we can finally get this show on the road!" Sean crowed, kicking back in his chair and putting his feet up on the table. The small piece of furniture groaned under the added weight.

Raven gasped loudly, bouncing in her seat, "Guys, we should come up with secret _codenames_!"

"Codenames?" Hank queried from beside her as he pushed up his glasses.

"Yeah, we're with the CIA now," she explained, still bouncing, "We're, like, government agents now and we need codenames!" smiling widely and eyes going to all of them, she squared her shoulders and announced, "I wanna be called…Mystique!"

" _Damn_ ," Sean huffed, teasing, "I wanted to be called _Mystique_."

Sawyer managed a small smile while the group chuckled and she guessed that Sean was the jokester of the group.

Raven stuck her tongue out at the redhead, "Well, tough, _I_ called it," she said firmly. Her skin suddenly shifted in a ripple of blue scales and in the blonde's place, was a spitting image of Sean. Down to every last freckle.

"Ah!" Sawyer startled, physically scooting away from Raven in her shock and she realized with a twinge in her heart, that these were Raven's powers. In order to pick their codenames, they would be demonstrating what they could do.

Most of the group had the same reaction, soda sloshing out of Sean's glass as he almost leapt out of his chair to get away from his doppelganger and Raven, now Mystique eyed him.

"And I'm _way_ more mysterious than you," she told him, perfect in Sean's lazy drawl, narrowing her eyes…technically, Sean's eyes.

Sean, open-mouthed and gaping, placed down his glass and slowly began to clap, the rest joining in with chuckles and their own applause.

"Thank you, thank you," Raven laughed, shifting back to the blonde persona she preferred in a ripple of blue scales and that's another thing Sawyer realized. This blonde girl wasn't Raven's true form. She wondered what it really was.

Raven glanced at Darwin and through the lingering applause, she gestured to him, "All right, what about you?"

"Ah, well Darwin's already a nickname," he licked his lips, bobbing his head as he rubbed his hands together, "You know, it sorta fits, adapt to survive and all."

"You can adapt to _survive_?" Sawyer blurted, eyes wide. This was so intriguing. Before meeting Charles, Erik and now these people, she had never seen another mutant before.

Darwin smiled at her, then bounced off the couch, "Yeah, check this out."

He swaggered smoothly over to the fish tank, holding the group's gaze. He gave them a sly smile before he stuck his head fully in the fish tank. Large silver gills sprouted on the side of his face and his mouth was open, gaping like a fish before he turned, wide-eyed to look at the group, his grin widening as they cheered for him.

Darwin rose up and threw his head back, shaking the water from it dramatically like a dog.

"Thank you, thank you," he bowed a few times and sauntered back over. He pointed to Sean, "Your turn, my man."

As Sean demonstrated his power, Sawyer couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Banshee as Sean decided to be called, could emit high-pitched sound waves from his mouth and while he meant to break the four soda glasses lined up on the table, he accidentally misjudged his direction and shattered the large window pane to smithereens. It didn't appear that they all could control their powers. Still, she was impressed and clapped along with everybody else.

"Your turn," Sean gestured to Angel on his way back to his chair.

"Okay," the petite girl stood up and peeled off her jacket. She shook her head, more amused than anything when Alex and Sean whistled. She turned around, showing off the tattoos on her back.

"My, ah, _stage name_ is Angel," she explained albeit sheepishly, "I guess it fits," the tattoos on her back pulled back from her skin transforming into light pink entomoid wings.

"You can fly!?" Sawyer shrieked excitedly. She reached forward as if to touch them, but dropped her hand. They looked fragile, like dragonfly wings, "No way!"

"Uh-huh," Angel turned her head to grin at Sawyer, then wink at them, "Oh, and…" she trailed off, turning to spit out the shattered window. A small fireball flew from her mouth to land on the top of the statue, sizzling and melting the top of it.

"You're amazing," Raven complimented, "You need a different name!"

"Tempest!" Sean decided, snapping his fingers, "That's what you should be called. You're Tempest."

They all laughed and Angel agreed with the name, sitting back down. She looked around, debating who to pick next. Her eyes fell on Hank and she nodded curtly to him, "What's your name gonna be?"

Hank looked extremely ill at ease. Brows furrowed, he turned to look out the window, crossing and uncrossing his ankles. He gave a small shrug.

Alex burped and punched his chest, "How 'bout bigfoot?" he asked before taking another swig from his Coke bottle.

Sean and Angel laughed, but Sawyer frowned. She had no idea what Hank's powers were, but by judging his reaction, he didn't find Alex's remark to be so amusing and neither did she.

"Well, you know what they say about guys with big feet?" Raven snapped, coming to Hank's defense. She made a big show of looking down at Alex's shoes, then pouting, "Oh and…yours are kind of small."

"Ooooh," Sean drawled.

Hank sent Raven a thankful glance and the latter bit her lip, shifting under his shy gaze as she scooted closer to him.

' _I wonder if they're dating_?' Sawyer thought, observing the two.

"Alex?" Darwin asked, extending a hand briefly in his direction, "What about you, what is your gift?"

Sawyer's heart stuttered in her chest. Gift? Powers she had heard of, but never the word gift.

Suddenly sheepish, Alex buried one of his hands in his hair, "I—uh—I-I can't…" he cleared his throat, cutting off his stuttering, "Um, it's just not—I _can't_ ," he shook his head, "I can't do it in here."

Darwin wasn't fazed and glanced out the window. He pointed, "Can you do it out there?"

"Yeah, do it out there," Raven joined in, refusing to let him off the hook.

"Come on," Angel whined.

Sawyer giggled and chants of 'Alex' began to ring in the air. Even Hank smiled when Sean began to hit the arm of his chair in tune with Alex's shouted name, the cries getting louder and louder until the leather jacket-clad blonde caved and stood up.

"Ayyye, that's the spirit!" Darwin cheered.

Alex rolled his eyes, walking out the destroyed window, "Get down when I tell you to."

The group all got up to follow Alex and Sawyer stood behind Angel, her hands on her shoulders. They all leaned forward, curiosity peaked.

Alex, positioning himself in front of the statue, noticed them all watching and waved a hand, "Get back."

They all retreated behind the wall, but stuck their heads out a second later.

Alex glared at them, "I said _get back_!" he snapped, gesturing wildly.

They only stuck their heads out further.

"Whatever," Alex murmured.

Focusing on the statue, he clenched his fists at his sides, beginning to rolls his shoulders and hips, then his entire body. Bright, blinding red light circles began to emit from his body and with a wide swivel of his torso, they shot out in fast rings, the statue exploding in a rage of fire and smoke.

The torso of the statue fell from its bottom half and flopped away a few feet, still on fire.

As they all straightened up from their sudden crouches, Angel was the first to react, a shocked laugh spilling from her lips. Overcoming what just happened, the group began to laugh and applaud, Sean clapping Alex on the back when he returned to them, cheeks faintly pink.

"You get to be Havok!" Raven announced excitedly, skipping back to her seat, "That's your name!"

Alex shrugged, looking like he couldn't care less. He slouched down in his chair, "Sure."

Sawyer froze, going stock still. She hoped that maybe if she didn't move, the group would forget that she even existed. Of course, she had no luck as Darwin grinned at her, not noticing her statuesque form.

"Your turn, Essie," he encouraged.

Cheeks flushing, Sawyer lowered her head, feeling like an idiot as she picked at her fingernails. Briefly, she wondered if anyone had any nail polish remover. She would add that to the list of things she needed to find along with a phone book.

"I-I can't," she admitted, cheeks burning so terribly that it was painful.

"Well, that's fine," Angel said, chipper, "You can do it outside like Alex!" she pointed out the window.

"Havok," Sean corrected with a grin.

Sawyer squeezed her eyes shut and she wished the earth would swallow her up. She didn't think she had ever felt as embarrassed as she did now. These people were amazing! They had wonderful gifts, all unique and it seemed like they all knew how to use them to an extent.

"I don't k-know _how_ to use my…powers," she admitted, barely above a whisper.

It was tensely silent in the room and Sawyer could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

"Then _why_ the hell are you here?" Alex demanded, not so nicely.

"Alex," Darwin scolded, sending him a glare that Sawyer didn't see.

"Okay…" Raven started awkwardly. She placed a hand on Sawyer's shoulder and patted, "Can you tell us your powers?"

Sawyer exhaled shakily, "I-I don't know really. I-I think…" she stopped, peeking up at them, "Something with water…I guess…" her fingernails dug into her palm and her posture was tense.

"You don't even _know_ your powers?" Sean clarified, unable to hold back his shock, "Like, 100% know them?"

Sawyer shook her head, pulling on one of her curls, "No."

"Oh…" Sean's reply was a bit high-pitched, causing Sawyer to flinch.

"Nāmaka!" Hank cried suddenly, frightening them all. It was louder than anyone had ever heard him be.

Eyes slightly lit up, Sawyer abruptly beamed and looked at him, "What? What did you just say?"

Hank blushed, avoiding everyone's gaze, "Nāmaka," he said, much, much quieter, "T-that's your codename."

Sawyer laughed breathlessly, placing a hand to her heart. She hadn't even thought of that and was extremely touched at Hank's attempts to cheer her up.

"Awww, Hank," she crooned, "That's wonderful, thank you!"

"What?" Alex looked between the two, eyeing the others who were just as confused, "What's that mean?"

"She's the sea goodness in Hawaiian mythology," Sawyer explained, "Or _Nā-maka-o-Kahaʻi_ ," she said, accent thick. Her mouth turned up into a wider smile, "It's perfect."

"But you don't even _know_ your powers," Alex argued, "Seriously, _why_ did they bring you here?"

The smile fell from Sawyer's face and her sudden good mood quickly vanished as she was sure that Alex was simply confused (as was she), he could have worded it a lot better without making her feel so isolated.

Raven jumped up, trying to lighten the mood. She patted Hank's knee, "Come on! Well all have our codenames and now we have to celebrate!"

Darwin hurried over to the brightly lit jukebox in the corner and turned on the music. ' _Hippy Hippy Shake_ ' by Chan Romero blared out loudly, the volume up to its maximum setting.

With a loud giggle, Raven took Sawyer's hand and pulled her up onto the couch as she began dancing wildly.

Sawyer teetered, throwing her arms out to keep from falling over. She looked at Raven oddly, who was already dancing so hard, the couch was shaking.

Raven took Sawyer's hand again, "Dance with me, Essie!" she demanded, "It's fun!"

"O-okay," Sawyer said, beginning to jump up and down when Raven took her other hand.

More sodas were passed around and high on sugary caffeine, they all let loose. Even Hank who hung from the chandelier with his prehensile feet, was dancing upside down.

"Are you _really_ adapt to survive?" Alex asked skeptically, glaring at Darwin.

Darwin nodded, "Really, really."

"Prove it!" Sean demanded with a grin. He picked up a chair, "If I hit you with this…?"

Darwin spread his arms out, "Go for it!"

"Shake left, Essie!" Angel instructed, distracting the Native Hawaiian as she hovered in the air, wings fluttering. She giggled to the music, "Now, right!"

Sawyer followed Angel's cried out instructions and she laughed along with Raven as the boys continued to hit Darwin, squealing when she saw a chair bounce off the black exterior that had appeared over his body.

"Harder!" Darwin shouted, "Come on, boys!"

They partied like this for hours and Sawyer threw her head back and laughed, a genuine sound that she had long missed. Besides a luau with her ohana, she had never been to a party before. So, perhaps this was bias, but she was pretty sure that this was the best party she would ever attend in her entire life. In this moment, she felt like she belonged. Her mutation didn't matter, her race didn't matter…nothing mattered except for the fun she was having.

"Go right, Sawyer!" Raven chanted, interrupting her thoughts. The blonde grabbed her forearms and Sawyer was starting to think that Raven didn't say anything that didn't end in an exclamation point, "C'mon, keep up!"

"WHAT are you doing!?"

Moira's shrill and disapproving shout, startled them all and Sawyer snapped her head up to see Moira standing behind the ruined window, hands placed firmly on her hips. Charles and Erik stood behind her, the latter's hands shoved into the pockets of his black leather jacket.

Immediately, Sean, Alex and Darwin stopped what they were doing, Darwin's form morphing back into his skin and clothing; while Alex and Sean let the items they clutched drop to the ground. Hank flipped off the chandelier at the same time Angel fluttered back down to the ground. Raven and Sawyer did the same, jumping down from the couch and landing with a dull thud.

She was sure that they all looked like children being caught trying to steal a cookie from the jar.

Sawyer was actually about to answer Moira's question, but was interrupted by the agent pointing firmly behind her at the dismembered statue.

" _Who_ destroyed the statue?" she asked them.

"It was Alex," Hank said quickly, pointing at him.

"Dude!" Alex glared at the scientist as Angel laughed, "Seriously?"

"No, no," Raven waved her hands in front of her face as she went forward, quick to correct, "You have to call him _Havok_ , that's his name now! And we were thinking…" she grinned and pointed at Charles, " _You_ should be Professor X," she pointed at Erik, "And _you_ should be Magneto."

Erik gave the barest of nods, "Exceptional," he spun on his heel and walked off.

"Hey," Sawyer piped, bouncing on her toes, "We didn't make one for Moira."

In a poorly hushed voice, Sean explained to her, "No, she's already an agent. She doesn't count."

"Oh, right," she went to chuckle, but was stopped. Apparently, Charles and Moira weren't amused.

Moira made a loud sound in between disgust and exasperation before she rolled her eyes and stomped away.

Charles stayed and shook his head, meeting each of their gazes, "I expected more from you."

His voice was nothing but firm disappointment that shook them to the core and all of their faces fell when Charles left.

It was Raven who was affected the most, pretty blue eyes filling with tears.

"Looks like the party's over," Alex grumbled.

"Hey," Hank stepped forward, placing a hand on Raven's exposed shoulder, "It's okay."

Raven's tear-filled eyes met his and she shook her head. She sniffled, "I should go apologize."

Gaining a bout of courage and a feeling a little irritated, Sawyer called to her, "No, you shouldn't. We didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah," Sean agreed, "We were having _fun_. It's not like they've told us what to do, yet. We're allowed to have fun. I mean, how often is it that you're in a room full of people _exactly_ like you? Who can do weird things?"

It seemed out of character for Sean to be so serious, but it lightened the mood some and Alex mumbled his agreements.

"Let him cool off," Darwin suggested, "It's getting late, anyway."

Sawyer went to stand beside Hank, "You know. When I arrived, they were going to have some kind of meeting," she told Raven this, hoping to comfort her, "Maybe it didn't go well."

"Maybe…" Raven said, a weak smile on her face. She wiped her eyes.

With that, they all decided to go to bed, silently agreeing to clean up the mess in the morning. While they walked, Sawyer idled next to Darwin.

"Hey," Darwin nudged her shoulder, "I wanted to warn you…be careful, some of the agents are racist."

Sawyer's eyes widened, though she had expected as much, "Yeah?" she asked worriedly.

Darwin sighed, "Angel had to go to the bathroom, yesterday and she didn't want to go back to the rooms. So, she went outside to see if she could use the one in the agents' break room and one of them told her she had to use the _colored_ restroom," he scoffed in disgust, then eyed Sawyer.

Sawyer shook her head. Some of the workers at her job had said racial slurs to her, some mimicking her "Asian" almond-shaped eyes. She was fortunate enough to avoid brutal physical altercation.

"Thank you," Sawyer said again.

"No problem," Darwin wrapped another arm around her shoulder, "We all gotta stick together. You got some black in ya', don't you?"

Sawyer blinked at him, slowing her steps a bit more, "Yeah! Mostly Native Hawaiian, Chinese and black. Also, Portuguese."

Darwin grinned at her, "Damn, girl, you got it all! Cool."

"Thanks," Sawyer's smile faltered a little, having gotten caught up in her excitement and she tried to backtrack, "But I'm not 100% sure."

Darwin flicked his eyebrows up, "You seem to be unsure about a lot of things."

She forced a small laugh, "Yeah…hey, are we really safe here?"

"We are," Darwin assured her, "Wait until you meet Agent Campbell. He's the one who's sponsoring this whole thing and he's really nice. If something happens, tell him and he'll take care of it."

"Thanks, Darwin. Oh!" she gasped, smacking her forehead, "I was supposed to find a phone book! It completely slipped my mind."

Darwin dropped his hand down to her shoulder and squeezed, "Do it, tomorrow. Get some sleep."

"Yeah, you too," Sawyer said as she neared her room, "Goodnight."

He smiled at her, "Night, Essie."

Sawyer called a goodnight to the others and slipped into her room.

She shut her door, sighing heavily once she was alone. It had been another long day, but much more eventful and positive. She changed into her dark yellow pajama suit and washed her face before tossing her hair up into a ponytail. She crawled right into bed and pulled the covers over herself.

While she was tired, the soda having worn off, she couldn't fall asleep as she replayed the day in her head.

She glanced at the photograph on the bedside table, eyes filling with tears. She was homesick for Hawaii, she always was and while some of the agents may be iffy, the fact that she was at an isolated government facility, comforted her somewhat.

Turning away from the photograph, she began to murmur:

" _Ka mâlamalama o ke Akua e ho`opuni mai iâ kâkou.  
Ke aloha o ke Akua e kîpuni mai iâ kâkou.  
Ka mana o ke Akua e ho`opakele mai iâ kâkou.  
Ke alo o ke Akua e mâlama mai iâ kâkou.  
Ma kahi â kâkou, e hele aku ai he Akua nô.  
Amene_."

It was one of the many prayers that she had learned growing up. This one, a specific protection prayer that she recited every night.

For the next couple of hours, she tossed and turned in her bed, though it was anything but uncomfortable.

Huffing, she sat up in the darkness of her room and brought her knees up to her chest. She was unable to see her alarm clock that she hadn't set, but could hear it ticking, filling the silence in the room. If she listened intently, she could hearing someone snoring. Probably Sean. He seemed like someone who would snore.

' _I wonder if bàba still snores_?' she thought, ' _It was such an awful racket_.'

She straightened out her legs and flopped back down onto her bed, comforted by the memory.

She listened intently to Sean's snoring and closed her eyes, sleep finally claiming her.

* * *

 **Translation of the prayer:**

 **The light of God surrounds us.**

 **The love of God enfolds us.**

 **The power of God protects us.**

 **The presence of God watches over us.**

 **Wherever we are, God is.**

 **Amen.**


	3. Chapter 3

Sawyer was the first of her teammates to awake in the morning and she woke with a start. She was a light sleeper—the definition of "sleep with one eye open" and it took a moment for her to recover, using the back of her hand to wipe sweat from her forehead.

Worried that if she showered now, she would wake those in the rooms next to hers, she settled for brushing her teeth and combing her hair, pulling her mass of curls back into its ponytail.

She wrapped herself in a robe and bent down to remove her book from the chest. She decided that it would be a good idea to pad down to the lounge and cleanup the mess from their amazing party last night. She hoped for a repeat before they had to do whatever the CIA had planned for them.

There was a noticeable change in temperature as she entered the lounge, the window that Banshee had shattered having yet to be fixed.

She wasn't surprised to see that the sun had barely risen. She was an early riser and always got the privilege to see the sun rise while she enjoyed a cup of tea or some hot chocolate.

She started gathering the items that Alex and Sean had used to hit Darwin, putting them back where they belonged before she started picking up the soda-filled glasses and cans to bring to the minibar. She glanced at the fish tank, making a note to feed them when she finished rinsing out the glasses.

 _"Then why the hell are you here?"_

 _"But you don't even know your powers. Seriously, why did they bring you here?"_

She furiously scrubbed out one of the glasses, Alex's words weighing heavily in her brain. It made her face flush when she recalled them.

As much as she had been humiliated, she was able to admit that Alex was right and she couldn't be mad or upset at him for that. It was weird that she was here without knowing how to use her powers and it was weirder that someone her age wasn't even sure if her powers were what she thought they were. For all she knew, she only made bad things happen.

She took a deep breath to keep from panicking and shook out the Coke bottle she was rinsing out to help get the flat soda out. She was tempted to run and go back home, something she did when she panicked—she ran, but Charles had promised. He was going to teach her to use her powers—to hone her mutation and she didn't have to be afraid anymore.

"Unlikely," she snorted, shaking her head.

Even if she did runaway, she had no money. Which meant the only way she could leave was on the private plane on which she had traveled and if she were to leave, she wanted to do it secretly. Leaving on a private plane owned by the government, was not doing things secretly.

She passed a dripping hand over her hair, sighing. At least in Vegas, she wasn't as useless as she felt she was now. Sawyer liked to think that she was the best worker in the hotel. To most, it wasn't something to brag about, but she was very good at what she did.

"Miss Lakahani?"

The voice snapped her out of her thoughts and it took a moment, but she turned her head and saw a pudgy, stocky fellow with dark eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses. He was dressed in a sharp suit, his short dark hair parted evenly, and he had a smile on his face. He was one of the government agents.

"Yes?" she asked slowly, shutting off the water and drying her hands.

He smiled widely, easing Sawyer's fears and making her hide a smile behind her hand when he stepped clumsily through the ruined window, approaching her with a hand extended.

"I'm Agent Campbell," he said, flustered, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Sawyer smiled, "Hi," she greeted, just as warmly, "Good morning."

"Good morning. I spotted you from my office. Are you all right?" he asked, glancing around the room, "You're up rather early."

"I'm an early riser," she told him, "And I'm not used to the time difference. Besides," she gestured, "I thought it'd be nice to cleanup after our party last night."

"I see," Agent Campbell said, "I suppose I'll leave you to it, then. Oh, and the window will be fixed by this afternoon. Just let me know if you have any problems or if you need anything."

"Will do, thanks," Sawyer waved as the man took his leave and she let the smile drop from her face.

After she finished cleaning up the room, she washed her sticky hands and went to flop down onto the couch. She covered her face with her hands that were pruned from the sink water.

"I hate my life," she murmured.

A second later, she shot up from her position, the blood rush making her dizzy. An idea struck her and she stood up to go and grab a glass from the cabinet.

Her hands were shaking as she filled it with water and when she was satisfied with the water level, she returned to the couch and took a seat, placing the glass in the middle of the table after she cleared it off.

She leaned forward, elbows on her knees as she stared intensely at the glass.

"Okay, Sawyer," she said to herself, "You can do this. Just do…something. Okay…" she clapped her hands together and took a deep breath, "Go."

Nothing happened.

The longer she stared at the glass, the more shame began to creep into her veins. She wasn't sure what she expected to happen when she had this idea. Maybe she really was insane or in a coma and this entire thing was only happening in her head. For so long she had known she was different, but maybe she wasn't. It was a possibility that _she_ was the lolo.

"Oh my God, what am I doing?" she asked herself, covering her face with her hands.

Tears filled her eyes. Being here—the reason she had been tracked down was bringing up too many memories that she was now forced to think about. It was something she hadn't thought of in over a decade and it made her heart clench, pins and needles exploding all over her body.

"Okay," she wiped her tears and took a deep breath, "It's fine, you're fine. Suck it up."

Sniffling, she went to dump out the water and fixed herself a cup of green tea. It was the only box she could find in the lounge. She took her cup and settled back on the couch to read her genetics book. It was something she had purchased in a pawn shop and it looked complicated enough to where it was something she could do for awhile.

The door opened and she looked up curiously, surprised that someone else would be up this early.

It was Hank and his face soon mirrored hers, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly as he looked behind him, then back at Sawyer. He jabbed a thumb behind him.

"I-I can-

"You're fine, Hank," she smiled at him, then turned back to her book, "Good morning."

"G-good morning," he stuttered, eyes wide, "Wow, it's clean in here. Did you do this?" he came a little closer.

"Yes, I got up early," Sawyer replied. She closed her book and sat up to fully address him, "What are you doing up so early?"

Hank looked to the side, evidently distracted by something. There was a crease between his eyes and when he looked back at Sawyer, his face had smoothed out.

"I always wake up early," he said.

Sawyer blinked a couple times. That had been a lot of pondering, only to say five simple words.

"Oh," was all she said, "Me too."

Things became awkward after that, Sawyer staring at the cover of her book while Hank continued to stand there in his plaid pajamas, shifting his weight.

"I wanted to thank you again," she blurted, looking up at him, "For my codename," a smile quirked her lips, "It really cheered me up."

Hank's eyes lit up and then he rushed to occupy the seat next to Sawyer, ignoring the way she jumped.

"Oh, of course," he looked stunned and fascinated at the same time, "I wanted to ask: you really don't know how to use your mutation?"

She tapped her fingers on the cover of her book, "Really," she confirmed suspiciously.

When Hank suddenly produced a syringe, she let out a loud "whoa!" and leaped back, falling ungracefully over the arm of the couch with a noise that made Hank grimace.

She shot up like bread from a toaster, looking frazzled as she clutched her robe closed. She thrust a finger at him.

"What are you going to do with _that_!?" she demanded, scrambling backwards.

Hank frowned, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion, "I was going to take your blood."

He said this like it should have been obvious and Sawyer's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry," she shook her head, "Repeat please?"

"There could be something in your DNA blocking your extra gene," Hank suggested, holding up the syringe, "Or maybe the gene isn't developed all the way."

Her face relaxed back to its neutral expression and she lowered her arm, actually considering Hank's words. That thought had never once crossed her mind. She had spent the past day thinking she was some sort of defective mutant. It didn't occur to while premature birth had no affect on genes (at least, to her knowledge), that maybe it could affect an extra one growing.

Elated, she hurried over to Hank, almost crashing into him when she jumped onto the couch. She grabbed him by the shoulders.

"And if it is underdeveloped, you could fix it, couldn't you?" she asked. She shook him a bit when he didn't answer fast enough, "Couldn't you?"

Face red at the close proximity, Hank hurried to answer, "I mean, I could probably enhance it—jump start it's growth-

"And if you could enhance it, you could diminish it, couldn't you?" Sawyer was too excited to keep her voice at a normal, inside, level.

With clumsy hands, Hank pried Sawyer's death grip from his sleep shirt and lowered them into her lap. He gave them a few pats, then cleared his throat, going back to the matter at hand.

"I've been working on a serum to cure the physical _appearance_ of my mutation, but it would leave all of my abilities intact," he told her.

Sawyer's face fell at hearing that and muttered, "So, you're not…?"

"Trying to cure mutation?" Hank finished with a pitied look. At Sawyer's nod, he sighed softly, "No," he frowned, "Is that what you want?"

This was getting too personal and Sawyer rolled up her sleeve, presenting her arm to Hank.

"Go ahead," she nodded at the exposed skin.

Nodding jerkily, Hank inserted the syringe into the vein of Sawyer's arm.

"Sorry," he whispered when she jerked, "Did I hurt you?"

"It's fine," she promised, swallowing thickly. She pinched her eyes shut, as she turned her head away.

"Done. Thank you," Hank said worriedly, withdrawing the needle, "Blood makes you squeamish?"

Sawyer shook her head and pressed down on the puncture wound with the heel of her hand.

"You're welcome," she replied shakily, wiping the spot of blood from her hands on her robe, "Let me know what you find out."

"Of course," Hank promised, pocketing the syringe. He stood up, "I'm going to go store it. Be back in a moment."

She nodded, avoiding Hank's gaze, only lifting her head when she heard the door shut behind him. She exhaled a small sigh and picked up her book, looking up when she heard the sound of crunching glass.

Agent Campbell greeted her with a sheepish grin, "Hello, again. Sorry to disturb you, but some of the agents will be bringing in breakfast for you all in a few minutes."

"Okay," she said, debating if she should wake the others, "Hey, Agent Campbell, is it all right if I use that phone over there?" she pointed behind her, "I need to call my job."

"Oh, I can take care of that," Agent Campbell said, "You don't need to worry about it."

She frowned, but nodded. She supposed it would look better if the CIA called, instead of her. Besides, she was probably already fired.

"And if you could ask for Iris…" she added, "I would really appreciate it."

"Will do, Miss Lakahani," Agent Campbell gave a small salute and disappeared back through the window.

She was a little irritated that she hadn't gotten much reading done. Evidently, it appeared that everyone in the CIA was supposed to wake up early.

Taking her book, Sawyer got up and left the room, going down the hallway to the girls' side of the bedrooms. With the guys, she would probably just pound on the door, unsure of the state they would be in and having no desire to see any of them in their birthday suits.

She knocked on Angel's door before she opened it and poked her head in. Angel lay atop her covers, sprawled out in nothing but a black tank top and a pair of lacy neon pink panties.

"Angel," Sawyer hissed loudly, "It's time to get up."

"Ugggghnugh."

Sawyer took that as an a-okay and walked past her room to Raven's. She tapped lightly on it with the back of her knuckle, pushing open the door.

"Raven, it's time to get-

She stopped, the rest of her sentence getting stuck in her throat. She pushed the door open a little more, stunned at what she saw.

It was Raven. At least, she was pretty sure it was.

What had once been a pretty blonde-haired and blue-eyed girl had been replaced by an equally beautiful girl with slicked back red hair and scaly blue skin that looked flawless and smooth even with it's appeared texture.

Sawyer stood there frozen, unsure of what to do. It wasn't her business, but why did Raven cover up what she really looked like? Did her blonde facade mean she didn't want to be seen in her natural form? Was her natural form being naked for her?

Either way, Sawyer felt like she was intruding and seeing something that she wasn't supposed to see.

As softly as she could she shut the door with a quiet click and hesitated, listening to see if she could hear any signs of waking up.

After a few minutes, she made a fist and knocked loudly on the door, putting her lips to the crack.

"Raven," she called, "It's time to get up."

She heard a loud yawn come from behind the door.

" _Ugggggh_ … _m'kay_ , _Ess_."

Ess? A nickname for her nickname. Sawyer kind of liked that.

A large smiled crawled across her face, "M'kay," she mumbled back, though she probably wasn't heard.

Waking up the boys, she was a little less gentle, pounding on their doors with a flat hand.

"Up!" she called through Alex's door, "Breakfast is being brought in."

The door beside Alex's opened and she saw a very sleepy Sean, dressed in his pajamas. His hair was in disarray and he rubbed at his eye, stretching his other arm over his head as he yawned widely.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Darwin greeted Sean with a wide grin, clearly a morning person.

"Morning, Darwin," Sawyer greeted shyly, "It looks like you slept well."

"Like a king!" Darwin declared, still grinning.

Almost everyone was out of their rooms and had said their morning greetings, but it was Raven, now in her blonde persona who inquired aloud about their missing teammate.

"Where's Hank?" she asked, looking around for him.

"Ah," Sawyer cleared his throat, "He took some of my blood earlier this morning and went to his lab to run some tests on it."

Sawyer had hoped that would reassure her new friend, but the frown on Raven's pretty face only deepened.

"Oh," she said, "Well, okay. You guys go ahead. I'm going to wait for him."

"You sure?" Angel asked, "You're going to stand here by yourself?"

"Yup!" Raven grinned and in a flourish of blue scales, she had transformed herself into one of the many agents that milled about.

"That's still freaky!" Sean hissed in Sawyer's ear.

"I think it's beautiful," Sawyer commented, remembering Raven's true form.

Raven's newly brown eyes beamed at the compliment.

"I'll be fine," she said in a deep voice, "Go ahead."

Sawyer was a little hesitant, but Angel's small hand grabbing her wrist was quick to change her mind. Together, the five headed into the break room where breakfast had indeed been set out.

There was a rack of toast, a couple boxes of cereal, some orange juice, milk, jelly and peanut butter and some cut fruit.

"No coffee?" Sean moaned, snatching up a piece of toast, "Or butter, ugh!"

"There's coffee right here," Angel skipped over and grabbed the pot, "And butter over there," she pointed, "Oh my God, learn to look for things!"

"Fifty bucks that they poisoned all of this," Alex said, right when Sawyer reached for the peanut butter jar.

She turned her head towards him, but didn't look from the jar, "Poison?" she inquired, "You think so?"

"They wouldn't do that," Darwin piped up, "They need us, remember? Kill us off and who knows what could happen."

' _Comforting_ ,' Sawyer thought, closing her hand around the peanut butter jar.

She spooned some into a bowl, cut up a red and green apple, then went to go sit down on the couch.

"That's _all_ you're going to eat?" Angel exclaimed, who was eating a bowl of cereal with cut up banana, coffee, toast and fruit.

Sawyer looked down at her bowl, then back up at Angel, biting her lip.

"Um, yes?" she answered, "I thought it was enough…"

Angel opened her mouth to spout off another comment, but then the door opened, taking all their attention.

It was Hank and Raven, the latter skipping the food layout entirely to go sit by Sawyer on the couch.

Again, Sawyer was pleased and very hopeful. Raven had come to sit next to her! She had a friend.

Feeling giddy, she was going to greet Raven, but then she noticed the solemn expression on her face.

"Hey," she murmured, "What's the matter?"

Raven snapped her head up and in a loud, defeated exclamation, she announced, "Charles, Moira and Erik left for Russia!"

"They _what_!?" Alex demanded from his spot in a chair.

"Last night," Hank went to occupy Raven's other side, handing her a bowl of cereal he had poured.

"Right after breaking up the party," Raven smiled bitterly at Hank, "He didn't even tell me."

"What's in Russia?" Sawyer inquired.

Raven shrugged sullenly, "He still hates me."

"He doesn't," Sawyer soothed, though she knew nothing of their relationship, "Who knows? It could have been an emergency."

That offered little to no comfort and they all dropped the subject, going back to munching on their breakfast and sipping from drink glasses.

Sawyer kept her eyes solely on her bowl. The older mutants had gone all the way to Russia, leaving them stranded at the base with prejudice and racist CIA agents! What were they supposed to do with that!? And what was the point of being here, if only to sit around?

Her fingers twitched around the slice of red apple and she shifted uncomfortably where she sat. She had never sat for so long unless she was sleeping. If she were back home, she'd be scrubbing counters, folding towels or turning down beds and fluffing pillows.

"So," Alex spoke up, saying what they were all thinking, "We're just supposed to sit on our asses all day?"

"I could beat your butt at pinball?" Darwin suggested, slapping Alex's shoulder as he stood.

Alex glared at him, "You're on!"

"I'm going back to bed," Sean declared, dragging himself from his chair. Half of his breakfast remained untouched.

Sawyer watched him go, then turned back, glancing at Angel, then at Hank and Raven. She supposed it was just them. Alex and Darwin were already going at it on the pinball machine and it didn't look like they were going to stop anytime soon.

"I know!" Raven suggested, bouncy with her suggestion, "Why don't we get to know each other a little better?"

' _Great_ …' Sawyer thought, licking some peanut butter from her apple.

* * *

Sean didn't make a reappearance until after dinner; by that time, the window he had shattered during last night's activities had been replaced.

He sat on the other couch, next to Hank, across from Sawyer and the girls, slouching as he snacked on a package of Oreos.

Darwin and Alex were back at the pinball machine.

"Jesus, man, you are _killing_ me," Darwin groaned from beside the game, looking physically in pain at the rising numbers on the board.

Alex smirked from beside him, "Hey, don't beat yourself up, I've had a lot of spare time."

Sawyer had watched them for a little bit before turning her attention back to her book. She was feeling a little awkward and she could tell that both Raven and Angel were put off with her.

Raven's "let's get to know each other a little better" hadn't gone well for Sawyer. Those kind of activities never did. So she was a private person? Sue her!

By next week, they would probably all be back to their lives and jobs or solitary confinement. Realistically, they'd probably never see each other again. Sure, maybe they could come to Vegas and visit, but it's not like Sawyer had the time.

For someone who wanted friends so badly, you think she would make the time.

When the two pretty girls realized Sawyer had no intention to tell them anything about herself, they had moved on to gossip. They talked about Ingrid Bergman's affair and Elizabeth Taylor's many lovers.

So, she sat there awkwardly and read her book.

"Who cares about Elizabeth Taylor!?" Sean crowed, biting into a cookie.

"Everyone does!" Angel cried, "Unless," she looked at Sawyer, "You live under a rock."

"Come on, Es," Raven nudged her, "You never _ever_ saw her!? I mean, it's _Vegas_!"

Her eyes were sparkling, making Sawyer smile and giggle at her. She had been a maid and was required to wear her uniform from the moment she stepped into the hotel until she got home. It was a requirement, so that maids could be easily spotted if they snuck into the casino.

But she wasn't going to tell Raven that. She had already felt like a fool for not knowing how to use her powers.

"I don't think I ever saw her," Sawyer answered, sipping at her coke, "Maybe she was in disguise-

Raven gasped loudly, grasping Sawyer's arm, "Like a blonde wig or something!" she grinned, touching her own hair, "Do you think so?"

Hank laughed at her, dipping his Oreo into a glass of milk.

"You know, Raven," Angel eyed her coyly, "Not everyone wants to be a blonde."

"Blonde's have more fun, so, mm," Raven stuck her tongue out.

Angel rolled her eyes playfully and Sawyer looked up, distracted by a loud top at the shiny new window.

Two men in suits had stopped walking to peer at them through the glass, the younger agent looking awkward and sheepish as his older colleague sneered at them.

" _Whoa-ho_!" he cried, "Look at that, I didn't know the circus was in town!"

"Come on, honey," he pointed at Angel, "Give us a little, uh…" he offensively mimicked Angel's wings, even adding his own sound affects. When Angel shook her head in disgust, his face twisted into a mask of concern.

"No?" he pouted. He nodded at Hank, "Okay, what about you?" he lifted his own foot, "Show us the foot. Where's the foot Big Foot? Aye, there he is!"

Hank had gotten up, delighting the agent, who continued to egg him on and tease him.

"What about that one?" he nudged his buddy, pointing at Sawyer, "What can you do, sexy? You speakie English?"

Sawyer's mouth fell open right when Hank waved at them and pulled the bright green drapes closed.

Raven had placed a comforting hand on her arm, but her gaze stayed longingly on the window, slowly shifting when Angel slammed her cup on the table.

"Angel," Raven sighed, "They're just guys being stupid."

Sawyer frowned. There was a huge difference between guys being stupid and guys being racist.

She opened her mouth to say so, but Angel spoke first.

"Guys being stupid, I can handle, okay?" she said briskly, "I've been handling that my _whole_ life—in fact, it's my _job_ and you know what? I'd rather have guys stare at me with my clothes off than the way these ones stare at me!"

Anxiety crawled into Sawyer's stomach and she felt as though she might throw up. She had never been ridiculed for her mutation. It was then that she realized why Raven hid her true form.

"At us," Raven corrected in a small whisper, lowering her head.

Angel looked away and shrugged carelessly.

It was awkwardly silent between the five and Sawyer focused on the sounds of the pinball machine, looking down at her lap.

 _Boom_.

Sawyer lifted her head at the same time everyone else did, looking around the room.

 _Boom_.

 _Boom_.

"What is that?" Sawyer asked, startling when Raven gripped her wrist.

"Something doesn't feel right," Darwin moved away from the pinball machine and Alex followed.

 _Boom_.

 _Boom_.

 _Boom_.

The noises continued and one of the hanging lights shook above them.

Sawyer rose when Raven, still holding onto her wrist, pulled her over to the covered window where the others were gathering.

"You think it's a storm?" Sean asked, watching Hank pull the curtains open.

 _Boom_.

 _Boom_.

"It's not raining," Angel muttered.

The noises were getting louder with each passing second. Sawyer had never heard such a sound. They didn't sound like gunshots or thunder.

But she couldn't see anything other than the darkened courtyard, illuminated by the lights.

"Look!" at Sawyer's sudden gasp and point, they all followed her finger, "At the moon."

The moon, that usually made her feel complete and at home, looked warped and distorted. There was an odd shadow in front of the full circle, hovering.

That's when the screaming started, from the shadow above. It cut off with a sickening thud, red splattering the window.

The shadow was Agent Campbell. Or…it had been.

Raven screamed and Sawyer cried out, covering her mouth with her hand as she backed away, feeling tears build up in her eyes.

"Get back!"

Sawyer barely heard Darwin's shout over the slam of the bodies hitting the pavement. It was as if Agent Campbell had acted as a trigger for the rest of them.

More lights flashed on and another scream was torn from Sawyer's throat as a body crashed through the windowed arch, it's arms and legs hanging limply.

Raven's hand crushed her wrist, but Sawyer didn't care. She was shaking so terribly, not to mention sobbing. She didn't understand how the boys managed to stay so calm.

"Oh my God, oh my God!" Angel cried.

Men dressed in suits, holding onto guns rushed into the courtyard. An older gentlemen, one with gray hair, knocked furiously on the window, waving a hand.

"Get back, get back!" he screamed at them, "Do _not_ leave that room!"

There was a flash and in a puff of red and black smoke a…nightmare had appeared. That's the only way Sawyer could describe this figure.

"Behind you, behind you!" shouts and screams echoed in Sawyer's ears.

"Shoot, shoot!" the older gentlemen commanded, "Shoot now!"

Gunshots rang out and Sawyer screamed, diving behind the couch as Darwin did his best to shield them.

The window shattered, sending glass and bullets flying. Almost as soon as it had happened, it had stopped, their attention diverted to the similar glass window at the other side of the room.

Sawyer could feel her anxiety pooling in her lower abdomen, though her fear and adrenaline diluted it. She felt like she was going to throw up again or have a panic attack. Now was not the time.

A large cyclone had appeared, colliding with something that looked like a giant golf ball. She had no idea what it was, but spotted the look of devastation on Hank's face.

"What. The. Hell?" Alex breathed, his chest heaving, "What was-

A loud grunting sound cut Alex off and their heads whipped around to see the same red figure, plunging knives into the agents.

That's when Sawyer noticed its pointed red tail.

"Móguǐ," she sobbed in horror, unheard through Raven's screams.

Screams, gurgling, choking on blood, grunts and pleads for life was the soundtrack of this horror movie. Blood gushed out of wounds and life drained from eyes. It was horrible, but the young mutants couldn't do anything but watch.

None of the men had ever stood a chance.

"Stay here my ass!" Darwin boomed. He darted off, "Let's go!"

Now, Sawyer couldn't run for her life even if it depended on it and right now, it did. Her lungs were underdeveloped and she was grateful when Raven grabbed her again, making it easier to keep up as they ran out of the room and into the hallway only to be stopped by army men trying to push them back.

"Get back, get back!"

"No, we can help!" Darwin insisted.

A large explosion rocked the building, bright orange flashes illuminating the hallway and adding to the sound of sudden gunfire from the army men.

Sawyer screamed, scrambling to stay straight on her feet as she ran. The wave of heat that had emitted from the explosion, caused her to break out into a sweat.

The only way they could go was back into the break room they had tried to escape.

Outside the window that hadn't been shattered, the tornado was back, closer than ever. It shook the room, causing Hank to stumble and slide into the tables before he could right himself.

No one said anything, too stunned and horrified to speak. On the other side, the Móguǐ was slaughtering men left and right. They were surrounded, no where to go and no one to call.

Raven sobbed into Hank's shoulder and Sawyer placed a trembling hand on her shoulder.

" _AHHH_!"

Careening from the tornado, a body was slammed through the window, crashing into the fishtank.

They all shrieked, backing away as the body continued to roll towards them before stopping with his bloody head lolled towards the side, staring lifelessly at them.

"I-I think I'm gonna hurl," Sean choked out weakly and Sawyer silently agreed with him.

The last agent in the courtyard fell, a knife thrust through his chest and Sawyer sobbed into her hands, feeling someone pull her backwards to huddle against the wall.

She tried to take a deep breath and scrubbed away her tears, just in time to see a man sharply dressed in a gray suit with shoulder length black hair, step casually through the window.

On the other side, the Móguǐ, still wielding its knives, did the same.

Sawyer screamed at the same time Raven did, startled by her and the sudden sounds of gunshots.

" _You want the mutants_!?" a quivering voice shouted, " _They're right through that door_!" Sawyer felt betrayal run through her, " _Just let us normal people go_! _We're no threa_ -

A low pop and a sickening splat sound, cut off the rest of the guard's plea.

Sawyer, shaking fiercely, closed her eyes. Was this it? Were they all going to die? The Móguǐ seemed bloodthirsty enough.

She muttered a prayer under her breath, praying to the dead so that their spirits would grow strong and find peace.

She jumped when the double doors slammed open, revealing a white man with a weird looking helmet over his head. He sauntered in as if what had just occurred was no big deal.

"Where's the telepath?" he asked the Móguǐ.

"Not here."

"Too bad," the man chuckled, "Well, at least I can take this silly thing off."

He removed the helmet, passing his hand through unruly brown hair.

He bounced where he stood, addressing them all, "Good evening!" he greeted them warmly, "My name is Sebastian Shaw," he began to walk forward, "And I am not here to hurt you."

"Freeze!" an agent shouted, pointing his gun.

Sebastian sighed at the interruption, "Azazel?"

Azazel. So, the Móguǐ had a name, did it? He?

Azazel vanished to slay the man. No one flinched or cried out and even Raven didn't whimper.

They were all huddled together as close as they could get, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Sebastian continued to strut forward, passing his helmet to the man in the gray suit as if nothing had happened. He still had a happy smile plastered on his face.

"My friends," he breathed, "There is a revolution coming," he kept coming closer and they kept stepping back, "When mankind discovers who we are, what we can do, each of us will face a choice. Be enslaved," Sawyer glared when he glanced at Darwin, "Or rise up to rule."

"Choose freely," he cautioned them, "However, know that if you are not with us, then, by definition, you are against us."

In Sawyer's opinion, that didn't sound like much of a choice. So, either they joined him or he would kill them?

"So," Sebastian concluded, "You can stay and fight for the people who hate and fear you," he grinned, "Or you can join me and live like kings," he glanced at Hank who looked away, then at Angel, "And queens."

He held her gaze and Angel swallowed thickly, gaze dropping to the hand he had extended towards her.

"Angel!" Sawyer cried when she took his hand.

She watched in complete disbelief as Angel let Sebastian pull her away from them and to his side.

"Are you kidding me!?" Sean exclaimed from the back.

Angel, still holding Sebastian's hand, turned to them, her dark eyes filled with tears. She jerked her head.

"Come on," her voice shook, "We don't belong here…and that's _nothing_ to be ashamed of."

Sawyer couldn't believe this, "Angel, h-he _killed_ these men!" she reminded her, "All of them. They gave up their _lives_ for us and you're just going to go with him? You can't!"

"If they had their choice, they would have destroyed us in a heartbeat," Angel spat back at her, "You think you belong here, Essie?" she narrowed her eyes, "Then you're pathetic."

Darwin shook his head slowly and held his own hand out, beckoning Angel to come back to them.

Only, Angel turned on her heel, walking off hand-in-had with Sebastian.

"We have to do something," Raven muttered.

Still in front of them all, Darwin wilted, shoulders hunched before he turned to Alex, grabbing the blonde's arm and whispering something that only he could hear.

Alex, however, shook his head and when Darwin shoved him, Alex shoved back, glaring at Darwin as he turned his back on them.

"Stop!" Darwin called to Sebastian and his two, now three minions, "Yo, wait up, I'm coming with you," he hopped out the broken window.

Both Angel and Sebastian smirked, the latter stepping forward, his face splitting into a grin, "Wonderful choice. So, tell me about your mutation."

"Well, I'm adapt to survive," Darwin shrugged, "So, I guess I'm comin' with you."

Sean nudged Sawyer gently and she followed behind the redhead, he and the others, slowly walking forward towards the door.

Sebastian chuckled, clapping Darwin on the back, "I like that."

Darwin nodded and went to stand beside Angel who smiled at him.

As soon as Darwin took Angel's hand, he shouted, "ALEX!"

"GET OUT!" Alex roared to Sawyer and the others.

Sawyer made a beeline for the door, unable to see fully what was happening. Still, the red beams that emitted from Alex's powers, illuminated everything.

When she was able to look up, she thought it was all over. No one could survive being hit head on by Alex's powers.

Apparently, Sebastian could.

He was still standing there. So was Azazel, the man in the suit, Angel and Darwin.

"Protecting your fellow mutants!" Sebastian called out, "That's a noble gesture," he nodded at Alex's shocked face, "Ahhh, feels good."

Suddenly, Darwin lunged at him, prepared to slug him in the face. Just as quickly, Sebastian reacted, blocking Darwin's hit and grabbing him fiercely by the chin.

Sebastian whispered something to Darwin that Sawyer couldn't hear and then, his hand glowed, a small glowing, red ball appearing in his fingers.

He forced the orb down Darwin's throat, patted his cheek, then disappeared with the others.

With Sebastian gone, Sawyer rushed forward to get to Darwin. He didn't look good.

She stopped when Alex held an arm out and she looked at Darwin, whose body was changing, desperately trying to adapt to what could not be expelled.

He was steel, then molten rock and he turned toward Sawyer and Alex, reaching a hand out. His eyes looked desperate as if he understood what was happening.

His body glowed with a bright energy that overtook his entire being and Sawyer fell to her knees just as the light disappeared and with it, Darwin.

He was dead. There was no point in sugarcoating it. The men in the facility were all dead. In fact, there was a dead body only feet away from her and the body that had crashed through the windowed pillar was still hanging. She was surrounded by them.

She had just been a witness to dozens of men being slaughtered and for what? So that this Sebastian Shaw could try and recruit them?

Horrified didn't cut it close to what she was feeling. She was shaking and she wanted to cry, but no more tears would come. Her throat hurt from screaming. All she could hear was the sound of Raven crying and Hank trying to soothe her.

They were dead. All dead. Darwin was dead and Angel had left them.

This is _not_ what she had signed up for.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm baaaaack! I'm sorry for lacking in updates these past six months. I was feeling rather stuck, but now that I got the "movie scenes" out of the way, I can get things moving and I'm so excited to really dive into Sawyer's story. Thanks to my Beta Reader Sabrina06 for being so patient. Feel free to review!**


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